disease. they have said if anybody is interested in helping out they can call the bear e patch cafe in charleston, sk sfk. they have a big bucket for donations. she's in a tough way. they asked us to point that out to folks whowant to help. we are grateful. >> let's hope somebody does. >> big thank you to our panelists as well. everybody, have a great weekend and we'll talk about what happened on monday. "cnn newsroom" with kyra "cnn newsroom" with kyra phillips begins now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com good morning, everyone. we are following two stories. six u.s. marines are killed in a helicopter crash in afghanistan overnight. that's what a u.s. military official is telling barbara starr now. we'll check in with her, but first we want to begin the hour with presidential politics. and that bear knuckled campaign of newt gingrich. right now he's in front of a friendly audience in charleston, south carolina, but last night he shared the stage with his three republican rivalries at the cnn debate. but it was an ex-wife making a scandalous claim that actually

took the spotlight. >> he was asking to have an open marriage and i refused. >> he wanted an open marriage? >> yeah. that i accept the fact that he has somebody else in his life. >> she says that you came to her in 1999, at a time when you were having an affair. she says you asked her, sir, to enter into an open marriage. would you like to take some time to respond to that? >> no, but i will. and i am frankly astounded that cnn would take trash like that and use it to open a presidential debate. i am tired of the elite media protecting barack obama by attacking republicans. >> joe johns is at the republican leadership conference where gingrich is speaking at this hour. joe, gingrich got a standing o when he was asked about that interview. >> reporter: yeah, he sure did. i mean, this is -- you can say a lot of things about it, but i think probably the most

important thing to say, kyra, is that this is the south. this is newt gingrich's home base. if there's anywhere these charges have been sort of talked about over the kitchen table and elsewhere, it's going to be in his backyard. so this is a new interview, of course, but these are old charges. and one way of looking at it, at least, is that a lot of republicans in this state really enjoy seeing a leader of theirs swat down the media, which is sort of what happened there. and they enjoyed it. so, i mean, does that affect the race? i don't know. anybody's guess. kyra, i've been asking that question for about 24 hours and not even the top leaders in south carolina can tell you whether it's going to have a negative effect or a positive effect, but at least up until now gingrich has certainly been surging, kyra. >> oh, yes. joe johns, it's going to get really interesting within the next couple of days.

thanks so much. mitt romney also took it on the chin. his punch, taxes. cnn political editor paul steinhauser joining us. paul, romney pretty much stumbled through that when he was asked about his tax returns? >> reporter: he sure did. this story line has been going on all week. let's go back for the first debate in myrtle beach. he's on the defensive and has been to a degree on taxes since then, kyra let's take a listen to how it was played out. this is when romney was asked by john king. your father in 1968 when he was running for president, he released his taxes for 10 or 12 years. will you do the same? take a listen. >> you asked me an entirely different question. >> beats me. i don't know. where are we at, john? >> reporter: well, that's exactly not the bite i was going to toss to kyra what he was asked about the taxes there, he

was booed because he said, well, maybe. he kind of hedged on it. this has been a trouble spot for mitt romney, but overall he did have a better debate. no doubt about that than he did monday night. i wouldn't declare him the winner. definitely a much better debate. >> i'll see if i can get this part right for you. rick santorum had a good night taking on newt gingrich as well. take a listen to this. >> grandiosity has never been a problem with newt gingrich. he handles it very, very well. >> i was 2- 0 doming into south carolina and i should get out of the race? i don't want a nominee that i have to worry about going out and looking at the paper and worrying about what he's going say next. >> how's the santorum camp feeling this morning? >> oh, they're feeling good. we saw rick santorum last night. he came to the spin room at the debate hall right behind us. kyra, he had a huge day yesterday. first of all, he won iowa. took him 2.5 weeks but he was declared the winner in iowa in

the caucuses on january 3rd. had he a strong performance in our debate. people are saying maybe it was his best performance in all of these 17 presidential debates to date. he went after gingrich. you played that. he was very aggressive at going after mitt romney. it was a big night for him. he needed it. he's down in the polls here so he needed a big night. he got it. let's see what happens tomorrow when we get those results tomorrow night from the primary here in south carolina. kyra, it's live tv. sometimes you get the right sound bite, sometimes you don't. >> what's great with you, you roll with it. whatever happens. paul, thanks so much. we appreciate you. well, the road to the republican nomination for president's stop next in south carolina for its primary election. watch cnn saturday night 7:00 eastern as the contenders and you wait for the final results. six u.s. marines have lost their lives after their helicopter crashes in southern afghanistan. they were serving as part of nato's international security assistance force when their chopper went down. pentagon correspondent barbara

starr joining us from the pentagon or from washington, rather. barbara, what exactly happened? >> reporter: well, kyra, the investigation is underway. the u.s. military though strongly believes it was some sort of mechanical failure or other type of technical failure that brought this ch-53 down in helmud province in southern afghanistan. six marines losing their lives in this crash. now the taliban very quickly claimed responsibility for it saying they shot it down, even e-mailing our producer in afghanistan saying that they were claiming responsibility but, again, military officials say they have every reason to believe this was brought down by some sort of mechanical or technical failure. six u.s. military families, of course, getting the worst news possible. kyra? >> yeah. worst news possible for sure. we will follow more into that investigation with you, barbara, as it develops. a state of emergency in parts of nevada as a fast-moving and deadly wild fire nears reno.

also the dramatic pictures. more of the dramatic pictures you'll see after the break. newt gingrich attacking the media and south carolina voters cheer. kevin cohen says his listeners just don't care about gingrich's affair. golly, that is deep snow! can you get me out of it? of course.

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back into the stands. [ding] [fans whirring] announcer: chill raw and prepared foods promptly. one in 6 americans will get sick from food poisoning this year. check your steps at foodsafety.gov. internet, tv, radio, the 24-hour news cycle has been filled with newt gingrich's ex-wife saying that he wanted an open marriage. the story's everywhere, but our next guess says that south carolina voters, well, they just don't karp. kevin cohen hosts an afternoon drive show on wboc in columbia. kevin, you say that gingrich is

a master at spinning the news. well, your listeners liked it last night. >> good morning, kyra. you're right. when you look at what happened in that debate and you look at what happened, he was on my radio program yesterday afternoon, this is a guy that is a media manipulator at his best. i don't mean that in a mean way. i mean that in a complimentary way. this is a guy that's been able to take what should have been a story that everybody was waiting to hear, sitting on the edge of their seat to hear an answer to. instead, he turns it and makes it look like the media is a i bad guy and had nothing to do with him. you have to give him his props. >> you also told me last week that mitt romney and his campaign is the most organized there on the ground. so what happened here when you didn't give a straight answer on tax returns? >> it's really hard to believe that a guy that's been through a presidential election already in 2008 and now here in 2012 really hard to understand why he wasn't prepped and ready for this question. i mean, the way it was phrased was beautifully done by john in the debate. i have to tell you, my answer would have been, hey, father knows best. you asked me about my dad.

's right. i'm going to release these things first thing next week. as long as there's nothing to hide or an impropriety, it needs to come out now just to put it to rest. these are issues that are coming up whether it's bain capital, these taxes. these shouldn't be part of the republican gop debate. this is something you'd expect to come when the democrats start calling in the general election but he should not have to worry about this stuff amongst his own party. he needs to put it to rest. >> still no specific answers. all right. two candidates drop out in south carolina this week. tell you what, this state is tough, kevin. >> kyra, i told you last time this state can eat you up and spit you out. we're not very big. if you can't handle it here, you can't handle it in the white house. we saw that with jon huntsman and rick perry. they're gone. that leaves four. we'll see what happens in about 24 hours when we get results starting to come in. i wouldn't be surprised to see something still happen between now and when the polls open at 7:00 a.m. here in the palmetto state. it is a state where anything is possible. it will go down to the wire.

this could be a very interesting race before it's all over. >> what's your gut? who's going to take south carolina. >> well, the emphasis right now, the um ph right now belongs to newt gingrich. i wouldn't put it past him to pull this thing out in the 11th hour. i still think mitt romney is the most organized and has boots on the ground everywhere around the state. still, if i had to guess, i'd say romney eeks it out. i wouldn't be the least bit surprised, kyra, to see newt gingrich pull out south carolina. >> you can listen to kevin's show. thanks so much. >> great visiting with you. >> likewise. all right. coming up right after the break, shocking new allegations against the captain of the doomed cruise liner as water poured in, he sits down for a romantic dinner. that story coming up. you know when i grow up,

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facts and figures. presidential candidates like to throw them out a lot during the debates, but sometimes they're not exactly correct. so let's go fact checking now with our tom foreman. >> reporter: when the republican candidates were not lighting into each other, they were taking shots at the white house and president obama. rick santorum in particular had one of the sharpest attacks when he went after the president on military spending and on entitlement programs. >> and the president of the united states can't cut one penny out of the social welfare system and he wants to cut a trillion dollars out of our military and hit our veterans and that's disgusting. >> reporter: is that really the case? let's take a look at it. the truth is the president has

proposed $580 billion in cuts as they try to figure out how to balance this budget. $72 billion for medicaid, other health programs. $42.5 billion from federal workers. you can argue about the specific definitions and when they'll go into place. they're not off limits. what about the military part of this equation? that's a different matter. on the military front what we have is a situation where there are a trillion dollars of military cuts in the works here, but half of those cuts are automatic. remember the super committee last fall that was supposed to come up with a new budget? when they didn't, this kicked in am some of the cuts are related to the scaledown. veterans administration funding up under president bush and president obama. the bottom line is when you add all of that up and you consider this big grand statement by mr. santorum, you have to say in the end it was simply false. tom foreman. now a shocking new claim against

the captain of that doomed cruise ship off the coast of italy. a cook aboard the "costa concordia" says as the water poured in, the captain sat down for dinner less than an hour after the ship's disastrous impact on those rocks. it will t >> translator: the captain insisted at having a male. i did wonder what the captain was doing. why was he still there. anyway, we gave him his drink. after that he was also still waiting for the desert to be served to the woman he was with. >> dan rivers is following all the latest developments. 's joining us from giglio island. dan, what are you hearing? what have you been able to find out about these allegations he might have been involved with a romantic dinner while all hell was breaking loose? >> reporter: absolutely. yeah. it seems that was the case. the woman who we think he was having dinner with is a

25-year-old muldavian woman who is a costa employee but was not on duty at the time of this disaster. she had bought a ticket, an on board ticket, to spend more time on board with her friends on the ship having completed a previous passage. she has also come out speaking about what happened defending the actions of the captain suggesting he didn't abandon ship as early as the coast guard would have us believe. here's what this woman, dominika said. >> translator: i've heard in russian media that the captain left the ship first or among the first, but this is not true. i'm a witness. i do not know if i'm invited to testify in the court or not, but as a witness i can say that i left the deck at 23:50 following an order from the captain who told me to go to the third deck to get into a life boat that could take more people.

>> reporter: that is at odds with the accounts that we've been given by the coast guard. you'll remember those recordings earlier in the week where the coast guard was berating the captain ordering him several times to get back on the ship after he told the coast guard he had gotten off into a life boat and there was still people on board. we've got two conflicting accounts which don't seem to add up and, clearly, you know, this is going to be the subject of a court case. one would imagine he's already under house arrest with manslaughter charges pending. he hasn't been charged yet. i'd imagine this is all going to come out in a court case in the next few months. >> you mentioned you got off a boat ride with the coast guard. did you get a better look at what exactly happened, dan? >> reporter: yeah, we got really close up to the decks of the "costa concordia." you get a real sense of, firstly, what a steep angle she's lying at and how difficult it would have been for people on

the deck to fight their way back up onto the side of the ship to try and escape. you also got a good look at the hole that they've blasted in, one of the many holes they've blasted in with explosives, the navy divers, to try to get access to the underwater section. on the other side we saw that enormous, long gash in the hull. it's about 17 meters. it's almost 200 feet long. there's a huge lump of rock embedded in the hull that's about the size of a small car, and that gives you just a real sense of what force it hit the rock and just how quickly the water must have been pouring in under the waterline. perhaps unknown to the captain which might explain why he continued to sit there and have his dinner, but the water was pouring in. it must have been by the size of that hole. that's why the ship ended up listing over so dangerously and eventually tipping over so completely. >> dan rivers reporting to us there from italy.

dan, thanks. dinner, drinks, desert. you just heard all the allegations. what's the worldwide media saying now? zain verjee has been tracking the responses about this dinner date the captain had during all of this. what have you found? >> reporter: good morning, kyra. i looked at a few of the newspaper headlines today, and a lot of them were really focusing on the human element of the disaster and asking what would any individual have done in that kind of a situation? they're not really defending the captain here, but they are asking interesting questions. this is what "the national" in the united arab em ritz is saying. its headline is the arc of humanity. it says, sudden disaster brings out the best and the worst of human natures. tales of villa any may also emerge human nature being what it is. who among us can say with certainty how we would react in such a test? the "sydney morning herald" says this. courage untested until ship goes

down. captain schettino's story appears human, all too human, it says. possibly a vein, glorious man who panicked at the one crucial moment of his career and who will now spend the rest of his life in a state of bitter remorse and regret. the captain still has a lot of very tough questions to answer. his friends and his family are defending him, but survivors and families of victims are absolutely furious as are so many people who are horrified learning of things today, for example, the details about having dinner after the ship struck rocks. kyra? >> zain verjee out of london, thanks. stories happening cross-country now. just outside of reno, nevada, 10,000 people evacuated because of these wild fires including vice president joe biden who had to cut a speech short as the fire neared the building where he was. so far one person has been killed. firefighters have stopped the fire's progress, they say, and they're now fighting the hot spots. in new brunswick, new

jersey, the pretrial hearing for former rutgers student darren rabi gets underway today. you'll remember he's accused of that hate crime and the cyber bullying of his roommate, tyler clemente. he later died of suicide. rabi turned down a plea deal. in nome alaska the fuel transfer is complete. took a tanker with the help of the u.s. coast guard 11 days to get through the sea ice. they finally reached the city to make the 1.3 million gallon fuel delivery. well, if you missed last night's southern republican presidential debate, you missed some serious fireworks. don't worry, we've got you covered. . all the replays straight ahead. .

checking top stories now.

six u.s. marines have lost their lives after their held copter crashed in southern afghanistan. taliban claiming responsibility but nato says the cause of the crash is likely mechanical, not enemy fire. rescue workers have suspended their search off the "costa concordia" after the cruise ship moved. italian authorities are trying to decide when to call off the search for survivors and start removing fuel from the ship. and the occupy movement has its next target, the supreme court. protesters plan to gather there today. they're protesting the high court's ruling that allowed corporations to donate unlimited amounts of cash to political action committees. fireworks are flying at last night's cnn presidential debate. if you missed it, here's how it all started. >> let me be quite clear. the story is false. every personal friend i have who

knew us in that period says the story was false. we offered several of them to abc to prove it was false. they weren't interested because they would like to attack any republican. they're attacking the governor, they're attacking me, i'm sure they'll probably get around to senator santorum and congressman paul. i am tired of the elite media protecting barack obama by attacking republicans. >> i think too often all of us are on receiving ends from attacks from the media. it's very disturbing because sometimes they're not based on facts and we suffer the consequences. >> gentlemen, when will you release your tax returns specifically? >> an hour ago. >> i haven't thought it through. i don't have an intention of doing it. for a different reason. i'd be embarrassed to put my financial statement out -- >> i do my own taxes and they're on my computer and i'm not home. >> if i'm not nominee, i'll put these out at one time so we have one discussion of all of this. >> grandiosity has never been a problem with newt gingrich. he handles it very, very well.

that's really one of the issues here, folks. a month ago he was saying that, oh, it's inevitable that i'm going to win the election. i'm des stined to do it. i don't want a nominee that i have to worry about going out and looking at the paper and worrying about what he's going say next. >> i do think government can kill jobs and i do think government can create the environment with entrepreneurs create jobs. the truth is you did very well under the rules that we created to make it easier for entrepreneurs to go out and do things. you'd of been much poorer if jimmy carter had remained president. >> mr. peeker, you're a speaker of four years. i was in business 25 years. so you're not going to get credit for my 25 years, number one. number two, i don't recall a single day saying, oh, thank heavens washington is there for me. >> all right. now the story that has water coolers buzzing today. you just heard it there at the cnn senate republican debate in charleston. it was hot from the get-go. those allegations from

gingrich's ex-wife saying he wanted an open marriage. andy shane is the political writer and blogger for the state in columbia, south carolina. andy, gingrich's response, it was a hit with the audience. will it be a hit with the rest of the state? >> you know, i think it will. you know, an anti-media rant is going to be popular among republicans in this state. i think they'll have some questions about what's happened with marianne gingrich. when a woman talks about the fact that she's talking to her husband and he says i love you and she realizes there's another woman in the bed. that's probably going to turn off some voters. >> there's been a lot of upheaval since we last talked last week. you would have bet on romney. now you say you're not so sure. >> yeah. i feel like we should take back our $10,000 bet at this point. the past 48 hours have been incredible. romney before the monday debate had a well into the double digits lead, a teens lead. with his performance on monday

and with gingrich's standing ovation, you know, that lead has dwindled or in some cases in some polls gingrich is now leading. i really think we're going to have a dead heat here coming tomorrow and that's been a big surprise so far. >> all right. so a week ago we talked about south carolina and its rich history of dirty politics and nasty attack ads. now we're getting down to the wire. how low do you think it's gone? has it worked for anyone in particular? >> you know, low is i guess in the eye of the bow holder. what it has been is constant and constant. we'll have blocks between shows where it's just all ads between the pacs, the campaigns, so forth. we've been inundated. there's robo calls. i'm getting complaints from voters saying they're getting five, six robo calls. they're in a sense tired of it. i wonder if that's going to actually work against some of the candidates. i don't know who it's hurting or helping as much.

obviously a lot of it was focused on mitt romney because he was the front-runner and a lot of that has taken some hits, especially, again, with his debate performance and questions about his wealth and about the idea that he paid 15% taxes. he's the one who's taken the hits while gingrich's numbers have gained. >> all right. final question. overall taking a look at everything over all there, mr. south carolina insider, what do you think is going to happen tomorrow? >> you know, again, if you asked me on monday i would have thought romney was going to go 3-3. now with the situation in iowa it looks like he could come out of south carolina only 1-3. i really do think it's going to be very, very close. i think santorum's debate performance will help his numbers a little bit. obviously the marianne gingrich thing is in there. it's really now almost anybody's guess. i think it's going to be an interesting night to watch the tabulations. >> oh, yeah. we'll all be watching minute by minute. great talking to you again, andy. >> great. thank you very much. thanks for having me. >> you bet.

let's check back in with joe johns. he's at the republican leadership conference in south carolina where gingrich was supposed to speak this hour, joe, but it has been canceled? what's going on? >> reporter: it has been canceled. it's kind of odd. we're told that former congressman bob livingston, who's out of louisiana, he's a lobbyist now in washington, d.c., spoke to reporters just a little while ago inside the arena at the college of charleston. big arena where the stage was set up for newt gingrich scheduled to speak. livingston told reporters that he was not going to be there, that the former speaker was not going to come due to a scheduling conflict. there was scuttlebutt behind the scenes also about a question of the size of the crowd. we really didn't see that many people inside at all. it's a very large room. looks like a basketball arena which would have been an embarrassing picture for the former speaker of the house to go give a speak to an empty

arena. they decided they were not going to do it. and we're trying to find out more than that. they're not saying it was because there was no crowd, although that was sort of the unofficial scuttlebutt, if you will. back to you, kyra. >> okay. joe, thanks so much. keep us posted. the sun dance film festival is underway. robert redford is already making news. not for his directing, but politics. and newt gingrich releases his tax returns. he did that just as last night's debate got underway. we'll take a closer look at them with poppy harlow next. awesome. and when i do find it, i share it with the world. you landed the u.s. tour ? done. this is fantastic ! music is my life and i want to make the most of it without missing a beat. fly without putting your life on pause. be yourself nonstop. american airlines.

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the annual sun dance film festival is getting underway in salt lake city. robert redford is already making news. not for his directing but for his drama. political drama. "showbiz tonight's" a.j. hammer is joining us. what's he up to, a.j.?

>> reporter: kyra, as you know, robert redford has always been one to speak his mind. he used some of his time to get a bit political. he actually tweaked republican front-runner mitt romney and his, as red ford put it, mushroom cloud of ego. well, "showbiz tonight" sat down with red ford at sun dance. he told us he is extremely frustrated at how he thinks the republican party is parlaying the political process. listen to what he told us. >> what i was taught to believe from a child is that there are two parties representing america's view of itself, republicans and the democrats, okay? so those two parties fully developed are supposed to be working together to make something happen. so that's what -- politics is supposed to be the art of compromise. >> and i think, kyra, there are a lot of people who might say robert redford is on to something. >> a.j. all right.

let's talk about ""american idol"" shall we? this has been a big ratings giant but apparently the premiere show didn't do as well as last year? >> reporter: yeah. let's keep in mind it's all relative when it comes to "american idol." these are in fact the lowest ratings for the show since its premiere back in 2002, lowest premiere numbers. 2002 is when the show day boughted. they attracted 20.5 million viewers. it was certainly enough to be rated the top show on the air on wednesday night. i'm thinking that has to be some kind of disappointment of sorts for the people behind the show. at its height idol saw more than 37 million people. it was back in 2007. the fox network had actually been trying to manage expectations. they publicly admitted that they expected ratings to be down. the truth is if you want to watch a singing competition show these days, we have "the voice "we have "x factor."

kyra, there may be some fatigue among viewers for these kinds of shows. honestly, i don't think, at least from my perspective, they did the same kind of advanced press that they normally do. i don't think people were as generally aware that "idol" was firing up. wow, if you didn't see the show, there's serious talent on it. >> they're young, too. oh, my gosh. >> reporter: real young. >> so many teenagers that are doing incredible auditions. >> reporter: yeah. i think it's going to be quite a season. i think there's going to be a lot of drama, too, particularly given the age of some of these contestants this year. >> we'll keep following it, a.j. a.j.'s got everything breaking. every night "showbiz tonight" on hln 11:00 p.m. eastern. while romney is getting hammered on releasing his tax returns, newt gingrich releases his. he posted them online as the cnn debate got underway last night. cnn's poppy harlow has been

going through them, sifting through them and crunching all the numbers for us. what did you find out, poppy? >> reporter: you know, first of all, that he's a pretty wealthy guy. what strategic timing right before the commercial break in the debate. newt gingrich releases his tax returns. let's take a look at the numbers, folks. almost 3.2 million. that's what newt brought in in 2010. he paid a relatively high effective tax rate. almost 32%. look at his tax bill for 2010. almost 1 million bucks. i dug into that a little bit more. he got about $218,000 in deductions. he gave a little over 80 grand to charity. let's take a look where this places him among other millionaires, other people in his bracket. he paid almost 32%. folks that made between 2 and $5 million a year on average pay about 26%. he paid a lot more than that. here is this important 15%. we heard this week romney say he paid about an effective tax rate of 15%. we won't know for sure until he

releases his tax returns come april, which he said last night that he would do. but 80% of americans pay under 15% in terms of their effective tax rate. more than 40 million americans, kyra, pay no federal income tax. this puts newt gingrich in a very, very high tax bracket, above even some of his peers. >> how did he make the majority of his money? >> reporter: that was so interesting. $2.5 million came from something -- from his businesses. a large part of that came from something called gingrich productions. i googled it, looked into it. this is where all of his 20 plus books, his wife's book, all of their speeches, where all of that money goes. he gets speaking fees. he said on the campaign trail up to $35,000 per speech. board of directors. rental property. financial investments. you have to compare this to mitt romney who makes the majority of his income off of financial investments. his money from those investments

is capped at a tax rate -- capital gains tax rate of 15%, kyra legally in this country they can't pay any more than 15% on capital gains. thes a big difference you're going to see when we get those numbers from romney. >> poppy, thanks. all eyes on the qb but our next guest says, hold on a second. there's a lot more to watch in sunday day's playoff game. we've got a preview right after the break. clinically proven to give 10 years back to the look of skin. we've got a preview right after the break. s day's playoff game. we've got a preview right after the break. y's playoff game. we've got a preview right after the break. 's playoff game. we've got a preview right after the break. playoff game. we've got a preview right after the break. playoff game. we've got a preview right after the break.

just in to the "cnn newsroom," an online protest that probably got your attention earlier this week has succeeded. at least for now. senate majority leader harry reid postponing tuesday's scheduled vote on the pipa bill. wikipedia launched an online blackout on monday to protest the anti-piracy measure. they say its restrictions would put them out of business. media companies such as time warner, that's our parent company, support this legislation. time to separate the men from the boys in the nfl playoffs. sunday's winners actually advance to the super bowl if you're paying attention. whether you're a big football fan or not, well, mike peska says you'll be watching the quarterbacks. our favorite npr sports guy with us once again. mike, you know, we've got brady, eli, flacco and smith. qb's get so much of the hype, but they're not the only hero in the game here. >> yeah, that's right. before you went to break i

noticed you put up a picture of tom brady. everyone watching said that's tom brady. if you had put one of his linemen, matt light, i'm sure most viewers would have said why are they showing lumberjacks on tv. some are anonymous. in the current nfl the quarterback who's always been the face of the franchise, the cover boy, has really gotten to be more important than he's ever been before. so if you want to talk about the four quarterbacks who are playing, all are at least good. brady is fantastic. eli manning is a very good to almost fantastic quarterback. then you have the other two guys who aren't talked about a lot but joe flacco can make some throws. when we're talking about tim tebow, the line is he wins so much, he must be a good quarterback. flacco's been to the playoffs every year of his career but no one applies that metric of he wins, therefore, he's good. alex smith has never been good since he was the number one draft pick. he worked very hard and this year he's shown that he's an

above average quarterback. in last week's game he made a couple of throws that i don't think anyone thought he could make but he did. now people are saying, wow, alex smith. this guy's a really good quarterback. i think the pendulum might have swung a little too far for alex smith. he almost went from underrated to overrated instantly. but the quarterback play will be interesting to watch. not the most important thing, as you say. everyone can at least make the throws that could hurt the defense. >> who do you think can give us the most interesting super bowl? >> yeah. there's no such thing as an uninteresting super bowl with two weeks of hype. >> never? >> of course -- never. i mean, you know. the game might stink, but for two weeks everyone will be talking about it. that, by the way, is why i like this weekend better. there are two games. only a week between games. you have less time to get distracted. obviously the patriots and the giants, that will be a rematch of the 2007-2008 season where the giants eked it out. boston wants that rematch so bad. don't look past the ravens though, boston, i would say.

baltimore and san francisco, that would be the harbaugh bowl because you have brothers jim and john facing each other. brothers have never played each other, head coaches, in a regular season game until this year. if those guys matched up in the super bowl we'd be on harbaugh overload. the giants have also played the ravens. i think the patriots and 49ers is the one match-up without a lot of history. it's the super bowl. there's no such thing as at least an unhyped match-up. >> mike peska, good to see you. >> thank you. free food, free laundry, free health care. best companies to work for next. the chefs at lean cuisine are going culinary chic with fresh, exciting flavor. tempting lemon tarragon, peppery poblano, sweet butternut. we're tossing it, roasting it, and grilling it. and we want you to be the first to devour it. at lean cuisine, we're designing delicious must-have meals with no preservatives. lean cuisine. be culinary chic. nestle. good food. good life.

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fortune's annual list of the best companies to work for. felicia taylor has all the top bids here. any surprises? >> not really because i think people kind of know in a google is a fun place to work. and that's the number one company. it slipses back into that top spot that it held back in 2007 and 2008. it may have disappointed on the earnings front, but when it comes to perks, the company offers free food, free laundry, even bocci boall and a bowling alley. and then there's boston consulting group and s.a.s. it has unlimited sick time and free health care. that's amazing. the best perk of all, they've all been hiring. the study says that's where the real feel good moment lies. take a listen. >> we also work hard to keep and retain talent about a while we know it's a tough environment, the glass isn't just half full.

it's -- items not just half empty, it's half full. so we see companies leak goiike kaeted 31% job growth. all told the top ten, over 100,000 jobs. average job growth, 13%. >> so if the company is doing well, that means they're add to go their employees. and this survey is all about employee satisfaction with their jobs. we spend a lot of time in the workplace, so if you're happy at work it's important for morale and productivity. >> from a business standpoint then, why is it so important to make this list? >> well, because, frankly, your reputation precedes you, right some whether it's an individual or company. and happy employees like i said make productive employees even in a weak economy. they're also more loyal. for example, turnover at these top companies is pretty low. sas, intel and general mills have a turnover rate of less than 3%. at that time average for the

rest of corporate america, which is more like 20% turnover rate as the normal sort of barometer. bottom line, greater satisfaction can help the company's bottom line. so if you're having productive employees, the company itself is likely to be more profitable in the long term. so it's all good news really. and a happy workplace is a mice thing. don't you look forward to into to go work? i do. >> of course. that's the right thing to say, right some felicia, thanks. we're following lots of developments in the next hour of cnn newsroom. let's check in with dana bash. >> well, last night, rick santorum really took off after two of his rivals. accused them of playing footies with the left. we'll have more on what he plans to do today at the top of the hour. >> newt gingrich takes on john king. newt gingrich takes on the media. and cnn.

you know what i'm talking about. it was the question of the night. you've heard from the pundits. now you'll hear from the voters in south carolina. i'm have that at the top of th hour. >> and i'm in los angeles. the internet collective anonymous says they're able to shut down the doj's website in a matter of minutes. find out how coming up next hour. >> all right. thanks, guys. we'll also talk to one of the stars of the new movie red tails and ask what it meant to play a tuskegee air man and to do those american heros right by putting their story on the big screen.

in utah. n as he was practicing for the x games. >> she was. one of the best in the world and truly a trailblazer. back on january 10th, she fell while trying a trick at park city mountain resorts super pipe. that was last week on january 10th. she underwent surgery, but died yesterday surrounded by her people. she's truly one of the best ever. a pioneer of the sport. she's won four gold medals in the winter xch games. espn honored her as the best female action sports athlete. and she's not just great out there doing what she was doing. she also wanted to make a

difference. she was really a driving force in getting the ski half pipe event added to the 2014 winter games. so she was truly someone making sure her sport that she lived would carry on. and those who knew her say she was more than just a great skier. >> she lived every day of her life to the fullest with her amazing husband, rory, her incredible friends and family. and everybody in the world. for sure it's a huge tragedy. >> she was so grounded. she was so modest. that's why people are were endeared to her more than anything. and that's what made her such a phenomenal positive influence on people. >> so those are other athletes. the man is a coach who teaches in cancanada. and she didn't just impact hose who do the free style skiing. other athletes are talking about what it meant. stoudamire tweeted about her saying she had an impact on his

life. they met at a potential shoot. the world lost a great athlete and innovator today. prayers go out to her family. and billy jean king also knew her, she tweeted she was a great friend and gave so much to the women's sports found days and helping young people. she was a champion on and off the slopes. and will be greatly miss willed. sarah burke, a fantastic athlete. >> and the medical bills. her husband is having a hard time paying for all that. >> a website has started where people are helping raise money for him. there you see the website. they're trying to raise $550,000 to help pay the medical bills. she's been through so much and now the family facing that, as well. >> jeff, thanks. it is the top of the hour now. we'll talk about president shap politics. thanks for joining us, everyone. it's the last full day of campaigning before tomorrow's

primary in south carolina. ron paul is in charleston, newt gingrich canceled his scheduled appearance there and is now headed to a town hall meeting it at the bottom of the hour. we'll check in on that, as well. extensive coverage this hour. we have the highlights from last night's debate and we'll bring down the best parts for you with the best political team on television. let's begin our focus on that bare nublg keknuckled campaign gingrich. he shared the spotlight with an ex-wife who is making a scandalous claim. >> he was asking to have an open marriage. and i refused. >> he wanted an open marriage? >> yeah, that i accept the fact that he had somebody else in his life. >> that claim fueled just one of many memorable moments last height. jim acosta takes a closer look.

>> would you like to take time to respond to that? >> no, but i will. >> reporter: the cnn debate opened up with a question to newt gingrich with about the allegation from his second wife that he once asked for an open marriage. former speaker as he has done time and again in the debates turned the tables on the media. >> i think the destructive vicious negative nature of much of the news media makes it harder to govern this country, harder to attract decent people to run for public office. and i'm appalled that you would begin a presidential debate on a topic like that. >> reporter: the response got a standing ovation. >> let me be clear. stoert is false. >> reporter: rick santorum seemed to say the issue is relevant. >> these are issues of our lives and what we did in our lives. they're is yous of character for people to consider. >> reporter: the debate later turned to health care reform and mitt romney was on the ropes over his plan in massachusetts.

>> it is not a free market health care system. it is not bottom up. it is plea script difference in government. it was the basis for obama care. >> if you want to be governor of massachusetts, fine. but i want to be president and let states take responsibility for their own plans. >> reporter: help ron paul gave his own unique prescription for paying for health care. >> where is the money come? my suggestion is look at some of the overseas spend has gone we don't need to be doing. >> reporter: but the discussion eventually went back to the personal when santorum was asked what he thought of being described by gingrich as lacking the knowledge to bring big changes to washington. >> grandiosity has never been a problem with newt gingrich. he handles it very well. newt is a friend. i love him, but at times he just has that worrisome moment that something's going to pop. >> reporter: gingrich's response, you're right. >> you're right. i think grandiose thoughts. this is a grandiose country of big people doing big things and

we need leadership prepared to take on big projects. >> reporter: that didn't stop romney from piling on. >> you talk about all the things did with ronald reagan and the reagan revolution and the jobs created. i looked at the reagan diary. you're mentioned once in ronald reagan's diary. >> reporter: the back and forth went on for a while. >> the truth is you did very well under the rules that we created to make it easier for entrepreneurs to go out and do things. >> i don't recall a single day saying, oh, thank heavens washington is there for me. >> reporter: then came an audience question. >> gentlemen, when will you release your tax returns specifically? >> an hour ago. >> reporter: romney, who has arguably mishandled the question all week appeared to fumble it again. >> my taxes are carefully managed. and i pay a lot of taxes. i've been very successful. and what i have are taxes ready for this year, i'll release them. >> reporter: the real big oops moments between the file four means the race likely stands

before the debate began. too close to call. jim acosta, cnn, north charleston, south carolina. rom any's fumble of his tax issue may be all the more damaging given the strong and feisty performances of gingrich and santorum. moth ben targeted romney and each other. dana bash is with the santorum camp. she joins us from lexington. santorum showed some chops in these debates. >> reporter: oh, yes. that's for sure. nothing like last night. last night was something that really i think hands down even his opponents would say that he was the toughest that he had been before and you just heard some of it in that piece. already this morning he is out on conservative radio continuing to hit newt gingrich in particular. newt gingrich is the biggest threat to rick santorum right now. mitt romney is as well, but gingrich is the one who is leading in the polls and potentially taking those key

socially conserve tip voters that santorum is banking on to to well here and beyond. i just want to give our viewer as remirnder of the kind of thig santorum said about gingrich, effect l. effeively saying that little too -- maybe he has one screw too loose to be the president of the united states. >> i served with him. i was there. i knew what the problems were going on in the house of representatives when newt gingrich was leading there. it was an idea a minute. no discipline. no ability to be able to pull things together. >> reporter: so there he's basically saying that just because somebody has ideas and is a good debater doesn't mean that he's a good leader. and we can be sure santorum will keep that up today trying to get in this as afternoon as can he before tomorrow's very important primary for him. >> all right. dana bash with the santorum camp. thanks. so do you have your scorecards

handy? mark preston joins us with the winners and losers of last night debate. how are you scoring them? >> i'm still trying on to sort it out. that was an unbelievable debate last night. there were arguments on personal wealth, redemption, infidelity, all laid out on the stage last night. was there really a winner or loser? in some ways you kroo say newt gingrich was the winner because he proved that the headline this morning and heading in to saturday is that he could win the south carolina primary. and all this talk that will it primary process is going to be over very quickly could actually be a thought that the romney campaign wishes was true, but probably is not true. the fact of the matter is newt gingrich had a very good debate. rick santorum, as well. and mitt romney did pretty good except for that stumble over the taxes. he was strong at the beginning, but when he stumbled over the taxes, again, it raised another

red flag. and we can't forget ron paul. he really played very well to his base last night. he got a lot of applause lines out of the audience. and he seemed very content afterwards. >> mark preston with his take on the debate. and also cnn senior political analyst david gurgen said gingrich provided one of the most explosive moments in history. each join us 10:15. and the road stops next in south carolina for hits primary election. watch cnn saturday night, 7:00 eastern as the contenders and you wait for those final results. six u.s. marines have lost their lives after their helicopter crashes in southern afghanistan. they were serving as part of may toe's international security assistance force when their chopper went down. barbara starr joining us from

washington. so what exactly happened? >> well, the nato peace keeping force was saying thches not enemy fire, that there was no evidence of enemy action in the area when this ch-53 helicopter went down yesterday. killing six u.s. marines on board. we can thousand con firm that the unit was out of hawaii. and they were serving in helmand province. the taliban took credit and said they shout it down, even e-mail willing one of our producers saying they shout it down. but again, the nato forces, there was no evidence of enemy fire in the area. it has been a very tough 48 hours for nato and afghanistan. four french peacekeepers military were killed in eastern afghanistan, a number wounded when someone in an afghan army uniform opened fire on them. the french government now saying this situation may lead the french to reconsider and pull

their troops out of afghanistan early. just the latest incident. politics front and center in the united states. but for so many families, that dreaded knock on the door. >> yeah, barbara starr from washington for us. thanks. david gergen calls last night one of the most explosive moment mis s in debate history. caved jo david joins us after a quick break. and makes tooth enamel two times stronger. get dual-action listerine® whitening rinse. building whiter, stronger teeth.

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have more fiber than other leading brands. they're the better way to enjoy your fiber. let's talk about the fireworks at last night's southern republican presidential debate. it was hot from the get-go. take a listen.

>> yourest wi ex-wife gave an interview and she says that you came to her in 1999 at a time when you were having an affair, she says you asked her, sir, to enter into an open marriage. would you like to take time to respond to that? >> no. but i will. i think the destructive, vicious, negative nature of much of the news media makes it harder to govern this country, harder to attract decent people to run for public office. and i'm appalled that you would begin a presidential debate on a topic like that. >> well, our cnn senior political analyst david gergen was there, as well. david, this is definitely the talk of the town this morning. what do you make of all of it?

>> well, it was explosive and it was also one of the harshest moments that i've seen, a harsh attack on the press, on john king, on cnn, let's face it. and this is for a lot of conservatives now, this is red meat. they go after the press, newt gingrich has done this before, gone after people in the press. it's worked for him almost every time and i think last night as a matter of politics, it was clear that he knocked that ball right out of the park. in fact many thought he may well have won the south carolina primary through those opening few minutes. now, i want to just say i thought the question was fair. i thought john king -- both fair and fearless in going after and putting it out there. it was the elephant in the room. everybody in south carolina was talking yesterday about marianne gingrich's allegations and newt

gingrich said they're fall. she said they're true. we don't know what's true here. but i think it was fair given the circumstances and given the background after all of a party that impeached bill clinton over personal indiscretions. so i thought it was a fair question and newt gingrich in retrospect, i think a lot of us sense that newt saw it coming. he knew what he was going to do and he had a very theatrical response which won a lot of points for him. >> so many people have mentioned bill clinton and of course that whole scandalous situation. all these years later, do voters -- how have the minds of voters changed? do they really care about these affairs anymore? does it really impact the way they vote now? >> we'll have to wait and see.

gloria borger was arguing on behalf of -- on cnn that a lot of women voters may be repelled by these allegations. we'll have to wait and see. i do think actually -- i come from an old school that says we ought to be prying less into the lives of public figures and hold them up to harder scrutiny in terms of their public lives. and i think we've gone too par. but the fact of the matter is that's where we are and the republicans have criticizedfar. but the fact of the matter is that's where we are and the republicans have criticized the way people live and they push family values. and what she was arguing, the former wife was arguing is a lot of hypocrisy and it's hard to disagree. >> what's your gut, what do you think will happen tomorrow? >> my gut is that newt gingrich's momentum has continued. i think he -- look, i think he saw a fastball coming. he was ready for it. he knocked it out of the park.

this debate last night was a continuation of a debate monday night, both of which have propelled him forward. mitt romney gave a very good debate performance except for what he dealt with taxes when he was awkward and stiff and defensive. but there's a sense here in south carolina that romney can still win this, it's still very close. but the momentum is on the side of newt gingrich and if he wins, it will totally upset what we all thought a week ago and that was this would be the end of the line for the republican race. mitt romney would sew it up here. even if it's close, even if romney wins tomorrow night, it's pretty clear i think that this race goes on. gingrich is in it for a while, at least through super tuesday. we'll see. but yesterday was one of the most tumultuous days we've had in this whole year of politics. and it has shaken up this race and i think almost anything is

possible now. but i would bet on gingrich in the primary saturday. >> david gergen, thanks so much. internet hackers strike back after the government shuts down an alleged piracy hub. find out what they did and how the feds are responding. [ male announcer ] feeling like a shadow of your former self?

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a fast moving wildfire south of reno is forcing thousands to flee their homes. one person is dead and at least 20 homes have been destroyed now. firefighters are starting to make progress, but hundreds of hot spots are still out of control. rob marciano has been keeping an eye on this wildfire. will the weather help? >> the same storm that will help them hurt them last night with the intense winds. this is the second cold season fire that this area has seen in two months. 20 homes burned to the ground. almost 4,000 acres burned, as well. hundreds of firefighters working on this thing. winds have calmed down a little bit, but thousands have evacuated. here's where it is. it's right near lake tahoe. all south of reno, nevada proper. and it's actually the road that you would take from the reno

airport driving west of lake tahoe towards south tahoe if you're making that route. but this is generally where the fire is. and that's where it in-s contino burn this morning. we'll have more information after an update in the next couple hours. but the rain and snow is coming. right now just raising the levels of humidity on the east side of the sierras, but the rain mixed with snow at times at lake level and in truckee, california. so that's the good news. the rain continues to pour in from the the west coast. the reason they have these two fires is at one point they had a stretch of 56 days without any rain during what would normally be the rainy season. as far as what we're looking at for the feks cnext couple day, n the way of rain. rain and snowfall for this area over the next several days. and this is the same storm that brought the ice to seattle, that brought the flooding rains to western oregon and will continue

to do that over the next due days. but for these folks, it will bring beneficial rains and help the firefighters get a hand on that 2350fire. >> good. rob, thank you so much. remember the online protest earlier this week when big name sited went dark like wikipedia? it has succeeded at least for now. senate majority leader harry reid is postponing tuesday's scheduled vote on this protect intellectual act or pipa. and kate bolduan is joining us with the latest. did lawmakers just blink? >> it seems pretty clear that they saw the writing on the wall that they did not have the winning position especially politically at least right now. let me read you in part the statement coming from the senate majority leader harry reid. he says in light of recent events, i've decided to postpone

tuesday's vote on the protect i.p. act. we of course call it the pipa. he says are is no reason that the legitimate issues raised by many about this bill cannot be resolved. he later says we made good progress through the discussions we've held in recent days and i'm optimistic that we can reach a compromise in the coming weeks. i'll tell you that it was clear that top democrats really have known for days that it was going to be a pretty tough climb to stare down the internet in light of the protests and difficult to win support, get enough votes to push through this procedural vote to move forward on this anti-online piracy bill. once these protests really started, there were many. we have an iunofficial list in the teens of senators who had supported this legislation rethinking their support to moving to oppose the bill in light of all of the kind of

protests coming out. so it's clear now that they're having to kind of at least in some level go back to the drawing board in the senate as well as in the house. we just received a statement that the house is also rethinking it's version of this bill to try to find a better compromise. so it seems the online protests have succeeded for now. >> kate, hangs so much. and we've had a bunch of analysts pick apart last night's gop presidential debate. after the break, our political buzz panel gets their turn. [ male announcer ] you are a business pro. premier of the packed bag. you know organization is key... and so is having a trusted assistant. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle...and go. you can even take a full-size or above and still pay the mid-size price. here we are... [ male announcer ] and there you go, business pro. there you go. go national. go like a pro.

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>> the captain insisted on having a meal at around 10:30. he arrived with a woman who i didn't recognize. i wondered what the captain was doing, why was he still there. we gave him his drink and he was waiting for the dessert to be served to the woman he was with. >> dan rivers with the latest developments on the phone there. so, dan, what do you know about what the cook is saying, also this young lady was interviewed. what have you been able to piece together? >> reporter: yeah, it's apparently a further damming piece of evidence against the captain that would suggest that he was as the cook said rather than leading from the front, was having dinner after the accident happened. i mean, the ship hit the rock at about 9:41 and the cook is saying at 10:30 on friday night, he was still waiting for his

dessert. not exactly giving the impression that he was up on the bridge trying to figure out what to do. this is absolutely contradicted by this woman he was having dinner with who is a costa employee, although she was not actually working at the time. she'd bought a ticket at a private passenger to spend time with her friends on board. now, dominique is saying that the captain stayed on the ship for a lot longer than the coast guard would have us believe. here's what she said. t >> translator: i've heard the captain left the ship first, but will this is not true. i'm a witness. i don't know if i'm invited to testify in the court or not. but as a witness, i can say that i left the deck at 23. chlt 50 follow an order from the captain who told me to go to the third deck to get into a lifeboat that could take more people.

>> reporter: so contradicting what the port authority told us that the captain had radioed from the lifeboat and was ordered to get back on to the ship's bridge. i think ten times in total he was told to get back on the ship and apparently refused to do so and was later seen on the island. so it's a bit of a he said/she said in all this. but i'm sure this will all come out in the fullness of time in the almost certain subsequent court case. >> we'll be following it for sure. dan, thanks. and online slap down. that's what the hacking group anonymous says it's doing by shutting down fbi and justice department websites. it happened after the feds cracked down on a site accused of internet piracy. amber lyon joins us in los angeles. the fbi set is back on line. justice department site was up and running until this morning. is this a second attack and do we know for sure that anonymous is behind all this? >> we've noticed that the doj site has been going in and out and we've talked with several

anons, who anonymous itself is more of a culture, hard to get to the bottom of things. we've we've talked to several source and they are claiming responsibility. anonymous says that the shut down of mega upload.com is really the straw that broke the camel's back here. they say this is censorship and something that could possibly turn into a slippery slope. possibly leading to the shut down of larger file sharing sites like youtube. the department of justice says that mega upload.com is actually the 13th most visited site on the net was an illegal hub for copyrighted tv shows, images, computer games generating more than $175 million in what they say are illegal profits. now, almost immediately after mega upload was shut down, the cyber activists xath gathered online and began a denial of

service on government websites. they're not breaching security for that. commuters blood a site with so much traffic that it causes that site to crash. i spoke with some anons who were watching the operation very closely. here's how they describe it. >> anonymous sees the shut down of mega upload as a type of enter threat censorship? >> exactly. it's a violation of freedom of speech. anonymous and a lot of other movements regard the internet as independent from any government and they regard the government interfering as stepping outside their jurisdiction. >> and most of these targeted websites are now back online. we spoke with a law enforcement official, he tells cnn that the fbi is investigating and has not said who they believe are responsible. >> okay. amber lyon, thanks so much. time for political buzz. three questions, 30 seconds on

the clock. and playing today, maria cardona, chris moodeddy, and chris metzler. obvious question. newt gingrich's ex-wife. here's conan's take. >> newt gingrich's second wife said, newt wanted to have an open marriage. yeah. i think it might be true. because at the last debate, newt turned down the lights and said, hey, fellow, let's just all be president. >> all right. seriously now. do you think the story which he says is false by the way will hurt gingrich in any way? maria. >> well, it's certainly not going to help him. and i think it all depends on what voters think when they go into the booth in south carolina tomorrow. and mainly i think he's got an issue clearly with women going into this. he was already at probably half

the favor ability that he was with men. and then also depends on whether these women think that this is old news, that it's just baggage, that the media is regurgitating. he answered the first question from john king last night brilliantly and he really played to the crowd with that one. so we'll see what this means going into south carolina tomorrow. >> chris moody. >> the last thing you want when you're trying to get a large group of people to like you is have youre ex-wife show up witha mega phone. however i don't think it will hurt him very much. he's been doing very well in the polls even in these last minute polls here. everyone knows about newt gnk grich gingrich's baggage. they've heard his redemptive story and i think he handled it very well. he's handling the anti-media anger and i think it might work to his advantage in the end. and if he wins this thing, it will give him will the momentum to the next state. >> chris metsler.

>> actually, hissest wife is the gift that keeps on giving. as it relates to newt in this particular case, i don't think this will make a difference. it's old news. we've heard it all before. i think going into this election, what's going to happen is the people will say, okay, why did you wait until this last minute to bring this up? and more importantly, all she did was repeat a bunch of nonsense that we've already heard. i think prapgs abc is jea perha of the real housewives franchise and what they really want is the real housewives of newt gingrich. >> oh, boy. i think chris just named the nest reali nest next reality show. grandiosity has never been a problem with newt gingrich. he handles it very well. is. >> is santorum poised to do

well? >> he is but i think it's too late. what he's trying to do is gain the relevance that he got from actually winning iowa. so i think he's going to do well, but i think at the end of the day, that newt will pull an upset in this particular race and that perhaps santorum now trying to be second in that race. because i don't think romney wins this at all. >> maria. >> i think that santorum did very, very well last night. the question is whether he'll be able to turn that into an advantage that will give him any real momentum going into south carolina. and he seems to be the candidate of catching up and a little bit too late. he won iowa, but it was too late. he did really well in the debate last night, his best performance to date, but it was probably too late. so i think he's in this maybe for number two and we'll see what happens in south carolina. i do think he gains a little momentum, know. >> chris moody. >> i think rick santorum got gypped in all of this. know. >> chris moody. >> i think rick santorum got gypped in all of this.th know.

>> chris moody. >> i think rick santorum got gypped in all of this.ou know. >> chris moody. >> i think rick santorum got gypped in all of this.gh know. >> chris moody. >> i think rick santorum got gypped in all of this.know. >> chris moody. >> i think rick santorum got gypped in all of this.now. >> chris moody. >> i think rick santorum got gypped in all of this.ow. >> chris moody. >> i think rick santorum got gypped in all of this.w. >> chris moody. >> i think rick santorum got gypped in all of this.. >> chris moody. >> i think rick santorum got gypped in all of this. should you get a bump after iowa. and he didn't get any of this. the iowa caucuses, they used the system where the precinct where i was where they passed around a tupperware bucket and then theys miscounted it. so this could have been a very different race if we had known a couple weeks ago that he had won. key ha he could have come in with a lot more know mun item. history could have been very different. >> buzzer beater. 20 seconds each. take a listen to president last night at the apollo. ♪ i'm so in love with you ♪ >> channeling a little al green there. what song will he be singing in november? >> i was going to go cliché and choose we are the champions.

but i'll go with a song closer to my heart. in english it's the people united will never be defeated. but i think between now and then, i'll have to teach the president a little spanish. >> sounds good. chris metzler. >> well, i think it depends on who the nominee is. but i will tell you the song that republicans want him to sing. it's the beyonce song to the left, to the left. everything you own in the both to the left. i think that's pretty much what the republicans are going to want him to sing. they want him to pack his bags and get out of will. so will it be to the left or signed, sealed, delivered. >> oh, okay. i wanted to hear metzler sinsin. >> no, you don't. >> chris moody, what do you think? >> i think after this long hard campaign, it's definitely not going to be kumbaya. but i think it depends on what side you come down on. if you're a republican, you want

to hear him sing i'm left, you're right, she's gone. if you're a democrat, i think you'd be happy spotted him on pennsylvania avenue wearing a white leisure suit humming the bee gees song. >> yeah, what's that great song? which one? staying al arrivive? i'll cue the music next time. hey, guys. thanks. we'll talk again next week. well, you might already know the story of the tuskegee air men. but you've never seen it like this. through the magical vision of george lucas. yes, the man behind star wars and indiana jones finally gets the air men's story to the big screen. coming up, we're talking the breakout role.

seems that a lot of people have a lot to say about cnn's republican presidential debate. don leg don lemon, definitely got an earful. he joins us live from charleston. did everybody just pounce on you? >> reporter: you know when we talk to people, they're like, no, i don't want to be on camera. last night, every single person wanted to talk to me. overall consensus, people said this was a great debate. but i have to say, almost to a person people were upset. one prn, one woman i spoke to wasn't upset about it. people were upset about the

question to newt gingrich off the top. they thought it was inappropriate. and that's what everyone wanted to talk about. i'm just being honest. they said, yes, you know, we care about morals, values, but it wasn't appropriate off the top. and when i i asked about anything else, they kept going back to that. take a listen. >> what's big issue today is whether or not newt is the jerk that we think he is. >> i think it's relevant, but also up called for. >> we elected clinton. >> his answer was the highlight of the evening. >> who else is he cheating on? >> he came off as a total jerk. >> i think it was appropriate for gingrich to answer in the way that he did, absolutely. and i think the audience and everybody else agreed with me. >> reporter: so again, they think it have a place, not just off the stotop. when people decide the primary on saturday, i don't think that will be in their minds. what will be in their minds of course jobs and commit. i think most people think didn't make a difference, no one really

changed any minds. no one did anything to really hurt themselves last night. maybe thut beginninewt gingrich himself with the question. that's it. >> don, thanks so much. and coming up after the break, we'll talk to a star of the new movie red tails and ask what it meant to play a tuskegee air man and to do those american heros right. [ female announcer] last year, the u.s. used enough plastic water bottles to stretch around the earth over 190 times. each brita filter can take up to 300 of those bottles out of the equation.

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overlooked in history and couldn't even get a break decades after the civil rights movement. the tuskegee air men struggled for decades. not just for the air men, but also for those who wanted to tell their story on the big screen. george lucas says hollywood refused to fund his black cast. so what did he do? he paid for it himself. the result? red tails. >> where is lightning? >> tipping from the front like should you ha you should have done. >> come on, come on.

got you. >> and you'll be seeing a lot more of that pie rot who blew up that train. word is this is his big breakout role. joe lightning little joining me from sun dance. great to see you. >> thanks for having me. >> this isn't the first time you've broken barriers. you were the first black actor to play an english monarch. two very different men, but this opportunity must have been incredible for you. >> it really was incredible. not least because i'm from the uk, i knew very little, in fact nothing about the tuskegee air men. and when i first read the script and found out what these men did at the time they can did it and the way they did it, it was a story i became obsessed about being part of telling. >> growing up in england and nigeria, what was it like to walk the grounds of tuskegee university in alabama?

>> it was incredible. tuskegee, alabama is a tiny little town, 12,000 population. and to think that this is where the tuskegee air men trained and went on to do these incredible things. they basically went on to help save the world in the '40s in the second world war. and it was indicative to me of the fact that great hinge thingt with a small seed. what they did has ramifications for the freedom we enjoy now. >> amen. well, considering that history, what was it like for you as a black actor to be a part of this and the fact that george lucas had to defy hollywood to get this film made? >> one of the joys for me getting to do this film was getting to be with a group of black actors where we were the center of our own story. there was no need to jettison in

a white character. this is a full bore action movie that's for all people. and that's what you get with george lucas. he absolutely understands his audience. he knows what they want. and that we have in bucket loads with red tails. >> so then as a black katcast, really did share a bond like the actual air men did during war. >> yeah, because we were very aware of the opportunity we were being afforded. one of the things terence howard said to us, when i was a yirng an tore, nothing like this happened, nothing like that has happened. and you guys should really be aware that is this a very rare situation. so that in and of itself was very bonding for us. we were very aware that this was an opportunity both for us as actors and also to celebrate the air men, a largely untold story especially on the big screen. so that was something we took to heart. and we knew we had to come through for them.

>> well, not only are and you terrific actor, you've got a huge heart. thanks so much, david, for joining me. and we put this special tag together just for you and another individual you'll hear about now. the same day that red tails is going to be released, wofrnt real air men who inspired it is laid to rest. about an hour from now, luke weather junior will be buried with full honors at arlington national accept directory complete with a military flyover. he was a decorated tuskegee air men in world war ii and he went on to become the first black air traffic controller in memphis. looking for financial advice. back then he had something more important to do. he wasn't focused on his future. but fortunately, somebody else was. at usaa we provide retirement planning for our military, veterans and their families.

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sarah burke has died. the 29-year-old suck comm succu to injuries that she sustained last week. she suffered a brain hemorrhage that led to cardiac arrest. she's considered a pioneer of free style skiing. mitt romney already has the south carolina governor stumping for him and paul steinhauser says he has the support of another southern governor. hey, paul. >> reporter: yeah, this happened a couple hours ago. the governor is bob mcdonnell of virginia, fellow southerner you could say coming one day before the primary.

mcdonnell he was on this morning. take a looisten to what he said. >> i'm a southern governor endorsing mitt romney in the first southern state primary. the governor of south carolina has endorsed him, as well. and i think hopefully that will help him. >> reporter: will it help or hurt, i don't know. probably can't hurt. i don't know how effective these endorsements are going to be. one thing about mcdonnell, he was kind of close with rick perry, so i guess it's no surprise that he waited until one day after perry got out of the race to endorse romney. >> let's remind everybody to tune in tomorrow to our coverage, all you throuthrough and night. thanks so much. coming up, suzanne malveaux, is your boss a psychopath? odds are you've had a crazy manager at some point in your career. next hour we have a test that you can take to find out. if the answer is yes, i guess suzanne will give us tips on how to deal with your psycho boss. [ male announcer ] feeling like a shadow of your former self?

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